The Top 10 Niches For E-commerce Stores – Show Me The Money!

In this post, I’m going to go into what I feel are the TOP 10 Niches for e-commerce stores today – BUT first, I want to go into the reasons you may be failing at your e-com business before I get started. 

It doesn’t take a genius to know that there’s a ton of money to be made online.

People are not just spending more time on the internet – they’re totally addicted to it!

You probably heard people saying that it is time to go ‘online’ because it is the ‘future’.
This is absolutely true! However, most people who venture into e-commerce fail miserably.

So if e-commerce is so lucrative, why is it so hard to make money online?

There are two reasons for this:

Number 1 – an e-commerce store or a website is a business. Naturally, most people have no idea about how to own and run a business. The educational system trains people to become employees, not employers. Secondly, people approach online entrepreneurialism without clarity and passion. The first problem can be rectified easily if you find a good mentor. My website here is a great resource for newbies, intermediates and pros alike.

The second problem is a bit more difficult to solve. You see, a huge issue with the internet is that there are too many preachers and almost no practicers.

• You cannot expect to build credibility and authority (both online and offline) if you’re not willing to be real.
• You cannot exploit the anonymity that the internet grants you and hope to make an impact on society without contributing anything original and valuable.

Many newbie marketers fail even before they have even started- They hire a company to build a website/ecommerce store for them. Then they hire writers from third world countries to write mediocre content for the website. They blindly try to copy other people in their niche and expect their bank accounts to flood with cash overnight.

Sorry to say, but these sad attempts never succeed; the internet has become just too damn competitive.

If you want to really make it big in e-commerce, you need to truly have a passion (or at least an interest) by the niche that you pick.

For example; somebody who’s not into cars would probably be bored out of their mind running a car parts/accessories website.

On the other hand, if that person was into one of the niches/”>niches below and built a business around that niche instead, it would be much more lucrative.

So if you choose a certain niche just because you think it’s profitable, you’ll never know what products customers are really excited about. You’ll not be able to evaluate your niche from the customer’s perspective.  Trust me, I’ve tried this a FEW times – it never worked out.

Anyways, the bottom line is this:

You should always go for something that really interests you.

To be honest, you’ll probably do alright too if it’s something you’re INTERESTED in and don’t mind learning (alot) about as you build your business.  Never make the mistake of picking a niche or product just because it is selling well.

Trust me, it’s selling well for a reason.  That niche/product is the going to be pretty damn competitive and you’ll be eaten alive by the big players that know what they’re doing.

Just don’t do this; never make the mistake of picking a niche or product just because it is selling well. That niche/product is the most competitive and you’ll be eaten alive by the big players that actually know what they’re doing, or pay people to run their stores that do.

Anyways, having said that…

These are the top 10 niches for e-commerce stores

Please use this list as an inspiration for original ideas – don’t dive into something just for the money.

1) Natural Nutritional Supplements:

These are and will always be in demand. Nowadays, people are highly cautious when dealing with allopathic medicines. They have watched too many documentaries that showcase pharmaceutical companies and the healthcare system in negative ways.

Because of this, they’re looking up to natural supplements to improve their immune system and overall health.

What happens when people get sick?

They google their symptoms or illnesses (unless it’s a medical emergency). They try to find home remedies and natural cures for their condition.

Also, nutritional supplements and alternative cures are considered very ‘cool’ in big cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

No wonder they sell like hot cakes.

There are innumerable high quality nutritional supplements that you can sell. Some examples include: Detox teas, Garcinia Cambogia, Ashwagandha, Ginseng, Aloe Vera extract, Curcumin (excellent for the brain) and many others.

2) Survival (prepping):

This niche is not yet saturated – it’ll grow exponentially in the coming years. People don’t trust the government to take care of them in case of emergencies like typhoons, tornados, tsunamis, floods, civil unrest, terrorist attacks etc.

They are stocking supplies and silently preparing for survival in case sh#t does hit the fan.

There are tons of products that you can market in this niche.

For example:

• Survival backpacks
• knives
• lighters
• water purification kits
• footwear
• rope
• tents
• camping equipment
• flares
• multipurpose tools
• flashlights
• survival guides
• fire starting kits
• compasses
• dehydrated foods
• notebooks that can be used in the rain
• first aid supplies
• and much more..

3) Love (dating):

You’ll notice that this niche mostly only deals with digital products. However, many ecommerce stores have succeeded in this niche by approaching it from a slightly different angle.

For example: tallerheels.com sells heels that fit inside men’s shoes and make them appear taller. This (supposedly) gives them confidence and opens up their dating options.

Basically, products you can offer in this niche should improve the appearance and/or confidence of people.

These include things like:

• skin care products
• hair oil
• beard oil
• hair growing supplements
• testosterone boosting supplements
• subscriptions to dating websites
• padded bras, accessories etc.

It’s very easy to push the ‘manly man’ or ‘sexy confident woman’ angle for either sex here.  Trust me on this, many of these may not SEEM like typical ‘dating related’ products, but with the right spin or angle of them they could easily become YOUR top sellers.

4) Clothing:

You won’t stand a chance against big websites if you go generic. You have to take it one step farther. How about organic clothes or clothes for tall people?

If your strategy for success is to provide the most options or have the lowest prices, you’re pretty much SOL.

You need a lot of investment and manpower to store inventory, handle complaints, refunds etc. Be sensible – start small, be different and build your way up from there.

5) Electronics:

You cannot possibly compete against the likes of Amazon and Bestbuy. It’s also highly unlikely that you’ll be able to invent your own smartphone or tablet. So a good option is to tap into the accessories market.

How about wooden or handmade phone covers?

The key to cracking this niche is to offer unique products that are not offered by the big websites.

For example: cool, funky, unique variations of common accessories like headphones, phone covers, selfie sticks, hard disks, USB devices etc.

Second hand electronics is also a niche with great potential.

6) Handmade items:

People are always on the lookout for genuine gift ideas. Handmade items make excellent gifts.

You can easily order bespoke (made to order) and original Handmade goods from Africa or India.

This way, you’ll be saving several dying arts. Handmade jewellery, toys, paintings and show items are a big hit.

7) Pets:

According to the ASPCA, there are about 80 million dogs and 100 million cats in the USA alone.

30 to 37% of US homes have a cat and 37 to 47% have a dog.

This niche is ‘huuuuuggge’ if you’re willing to offer quality products.

Most of the pet foods available on the market are very bad for pets – they contain corn oil, sugar etc.

How about healthy pet food or organic pet food?

General product ideas for example:

• nutritional supplements for pets
• water bowls
• food bowls
• toys
• brushes
• grooming kits
• soaps
• shampoos
• pet foods
• dog whistles
• kennels
• etc.

Put your own unique spin on things, why not target a specific breed of dog? Corgi Kennels, Boston Terrier Food/Water bowls etc.  Be creative, there are diehard breedsd for just about EVERY dog imaginable and it’s quite easy to find TONS of products taylored towards that particular pooch!

8) Travel:

Gone are the days when people went to travel agents to book their tickets, hotels etc. Travel is a huge niche but is it immensely competitive.

Websites like expedia, tripadvisor, hostelworld etc. are impossible to beat. However, you can definitely make money in this niche if you focus on a single region or town.

• Do you live in or frequently a city/area that gets a lot of tourists?
• Do you know where the best food joints are located?

If yes, you’re in the game. It takes a bit of creativity and co-ordination to crack this niche, but then, travel is a highly rewarding niche.

Product examples: Travel accessories like bags, suitcases, sun glasses, scarves, jackets, flip-flops, hotel deals, food vouchers and so on.

Note: The travel niche is not suitable for everyone as it may require lots of local network and/or huge investments. It’s also an interesting mix of ecom and digital sales.

Here’s an easier alternative – Online Grocery Store: There’s a huge demand for speciality items like spices and spice blends, oils, condiments, sauces, chutneys, exotic foods etc.

9) Baby products:

Parents are highly concerned about their kids’ well-being. A lot of the baby products on the market are made using cheap and toxic materials.

Can you provide a better alternative? You need to understand this niche before you decide to cater to it.

Try to get at least some experience with babies – volunteer to help your friends, relatives.

Common e-commerce products in this niche include:

• toys
• potties
• nappies
• baby food
• powder
• baby oil
• tricycles
• etc.

10) Fandom products:

This niche never dries up. Sports teams, countries, cities have huge fan followings Epic TV shows and films like Game of Thrones and Spartacus will be made in the future too.

T-shirts, mugs and other items featuring graphics and phrases like ‘I love New York’ and ‘I Love ‘Whatever’’ are always going to popular.

You have to keep evolving in this niche but there’s some good money to be made in it!

Do some market research before you commit to a niche fully. Facebooks ads and google adsense are good ways to test out your products.

What Next?

There are a few options honestly in ECommerce & Amazon Training Courses: